More than 300 CityU athletes competed at the ninth CityU Annual Athletic Meet, held at the Joint Sports Centre on 3 November, with a total of 15 new records in track and field events.

The Best Male Athlete award went to Lai Ka-bun, a third year Electronic Engineering student and Hong Kong representative in the 14th Asian Games in Busan, South Korea, at the end of September. Lai clinched a gold medal in the 100-metre sprint with a 10.58-second performance, shaving 2.1 seconds off the University's record. Despite his busy schedule in athletic training and academic study, Lai found his sports life very fruitful."CityU provides excellent coaching and sports facilities. I learned that one would get result if you really work hard for your goal."

The title of Best Female Athlete went to Chan Mei-tik, a first year associate degree student in Leisure and Tourism Management, who won gold medals in high jump, long jump and 100-metre. She also represented Hong Kong in the Busan Asian Games. "Physical education has trained me to rely on myself to get good results. I strive to get better performance each time and never compare myself to others. That's the best way to overcome pressure," she said.

Student athletes are grouped into various teams, with coaching staff from the Physical Education Section of the Student Development Services and trainers, many of whom are CityU alumni. Team members of Cross Country, whose honorary manager is Marketing Department Head Dr Zhou Nan, had training three days per week. "Dr Zhou is is doing a great job in building and leading the team. I am learning a lot about running from him and our student athletes. His mere presence can stimulate our fighting spirit," said one of the team members. Dr Zhou was the first runner-up in the staff category men's 5,000-metre event.

"CityU's educational philosophy places great emphasis on whole person development and sports is a crucial part of it," said Professor Y S Wong, Vice President (Institutional Advancement), in his closing speech. "It helps strengthen our determination and persistence towards our goal, no matter in the sport arena or in life." Professor Wong and Mr John Dockerill, Vice President (Planning and Information Services) presented the trophies.

The Athletic Meet was co-organized by the Physical Education Section of the Student Development Services and the . Throughout the year, the PE Section provides coaching to CityU sport teams, who have clinched the Men's Overall Championship and a second place in the Women's Overall Championship titles in the 2001-02 Hong Kong Post-Secondary Colleges Athletic Association events.